


Stuck at the Inn

by lindaflower35



Series: One-shots/Short Stories [1]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Annoyed Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Bar Room Brawl, Drunk Jaskier | Dandelion, Drunkenness, Getting to Know Each Other, One Shot, Original Character(s), Protective Jaskier | Dandelion, The Witcher Netflix series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25373236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindaflower35/pseuds/lindaflower35
Summary: After leaving for Temeria, Geralt's companions find themselves stranded. They find a way to pass the time as they wait for Geralt's return. But while under the influence of ale, things change and not for the better.
Series: One-shots/Short Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843426





	Stuck at the Inn

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot takes place during third episode of The Witcher netflix series: "Betrayer Moon"

Through the lively chatter and the happy drunken men at the inn, there was one person sitting alone, isolated from everyone. Her silver eyes narrowed in anger while observing the environment around her. Her anger was directed towards one man that was absent from the inn, the one that stole her horse to ride to Temeria for unfinished business. 

“Do you plan on sulking at your corner until Geralt comes back?” Jaskier asked as he sat down across from her, having two ale mugs in his hands. She glared at the young brown-haired man as he slid one mug across the table in front of her. Jaskier was a bard that followed her and Geralt and sang songs about their adventures of hunting and killing monsters. 

_Geralt._ _Geralt_ _of_ _Rivia._ He was the source of her anger. The Witcher couldn’t pay for their room, so he left his horse as a deposit. He heard another Witcher was hired for a job in Temeria, but ran away with the money. Geralt told her that he would go to investigate while she and Jaskier would stay behind, and he would come back with the money to pay for their rooms before he took her horse; that was a few days ago. She paid her half of their rooms and Jaskier paid to extend their stay, just until Geralt returns. 

“Can’t you tell when a person wants to be left alone?” she muttered, leaving the mug untouched. 

“Yes, well during our time traveling together, we’ve never really got to know each other,” Jaskier pointed out, slightly intimidated by her, “So, I- I think this is the perfect time to get better acquainted,” he finished happily. 

She stared at him unamused for a few minutes, “I don’t drink,” she simply stated. 

“Oh, I find it rather hard to believe that a fearsome woman like you never had a single sip,” Jaskier commented before drinking his ale. 

She looked at the ale mug, furrowing her brows as she contemplated. Before joining Geralt, she did drink, but only a few sips; her mother warned her about the dangers of ale. Her grandfather on her father side was an occasional drunk, but on her mother’s side, he was an extreme alcoholic who would beat up his wife in front of their children, one of them being her mother as a young child. 

It’s been many years since her last sip, so long that she didn’t remember when. But hell, she needed something to take her mind off of her anger.Taking a deep breath, she held it out towards Jaskier, signaling a toast, “Cheers,” she announced as Jaskier tap his mug against hers, “May Geralt arrive in one piece so that I may personally cut him up in multiple ones,” she muttered before drinking her ale. 

Jaskier held his mug awkwardly for a moment, “R- Right so,” he replied before drinking his ale too. 

Placing her mug down, her face twisted in disgust and repulse when the aftertaste of the ale burned her throat, making her cough a few times. 

The bard had an amused smile on his lips. “Has it been _that_ long since your last one?” he asked with a slight chuckle. 

“It appears so,” she replied hoarsely before clearing her throat, “I am off my game with ale, I cannot be like this,” she thought out loud before taking another sip. 

After a few hours, the two mugs were already half empty and she was already feeling tipsy from the ale. Her anger and Geralt were gone from her mind as her and Jaskier started to reveal small things about themselves. 

“Let me get this straight,” she slightly slurred, letting out a small burp before continuing, “Your actual name isn’t Jaskier, it’s Julian? And you attended the Academy of Oxenfurt?” she questioned surprised. 

“Yes, and yes,” the bard confirmed with a playful smile on his lips, “I was a professor for a short time, giving guest lectures when I visited. Nothing big,” he dismissively added before bringing his mug to his lips, taking a sip. He saw the wide-eyed expression on the woman across from him as he put it down. 

“You were a professor?! Then, what the fuck are you doing here, being a bard?” she exclaimed, leaning in, “You could be out there making something of yourself instead of being here, penniless and homeless.” 

“I could,” Jaskier replied dismissively, shrugging his shoulders, “but money and title never caught my attention. They mean nothing to me,” he clarified before drinking his ale. 

“So, you prefer being penniless?” she amused as a smirk grew on her lips. 

“I prefer to see the world, sing about it, write about it,” he answered before letting out a soft burp, “I prefer having nothing and doing what I love than having everything and loving nothing that I do,” he spoke reflectively, leaning towards her, “There’s a simplicity in it, wouldn’t you agree?” Jaskier softly added. 

There was a slight pause between the two as they stared at each other, her silver orbs clashing with his grey ones. The ale was already affecting her as she had a sudden urge to close the gap between them. Jaskier’s eyes lowered down to her lips, having the same thought. 

“I didn’t expect a man like you would have an intelligent background,” she commented softly, her smirk changing to a small smile. 

Jaskier let out an amused chuckle, “Speaking of unexpecting, you mentioned you were an assassin before if I recall correctly,” he pointed out interested with a sloppy smile on his face, changing the subject. 

Her smile faltered once he mentioned her past. “It’s a background I rather not revisit,” she mumbled perturbed as she backed away from him. 

Jaskier furrowed his brows in confusion at her reaction, “Why not? I’m sure you have tales of your own adventures,” he tried to encouraged. 

She let out a staggering breath before drinking the last of her ale, to mask how unsettled she was. “Trust me, they’re not that type of adventures,” she muttered before quickly excusing herself to the washroom. 

She let out a deep breath once arriving and closing the door. _Damn the ale._ It was affecting her more than she thought by giving tidbits of her past that she would never reveal while sober. Her past was nothing she would be proud of. True, she was an assassin before joining Geralt, with a formidable reputation and many enemies. Her head was worth many coins. She didn’t know if she was still wanted currently, but it was best to keep the piece of information hidden. She walked over to a nearby bucket filled with water and splashed her face, to clear her mind. Cupping her hands together, she drank a bit of the water to lessen the hangover she would have in the morning. 

Once finished, she returned to the inn. As she was walking back to her table, she noticed a slight commotion where she and Jaskier were sitting at as well as a few people were huddled around. She pushed her way to the front to know what was happening and saw Jaskier fighting with another man. Did much drastically change with the few minutes she was gone? 

“You got to be kidding me,” she muttered to herself annoyingly. A punch was landed on Jaskier’s face, making him fall on his back. She rushed over to his side, helping him up, “Jaskier, what did you do now?!” she scolded, her silver eyes flaring. 

“This halfwit was speaking about you in such a degrading matter!” Jaskier exclaimed in anger, already putting his fists in front of him, “I’m not going to let anyone verbally violate your honor!” 

“Jaskier, don’t be a fool!” she yelled at him, but was ignored. 

Jaskier stumbled his way to the man, throwing a punch at him, but missed. He was in and over his head, thanks to the ale, thinking he could take someone down. She quickly stepped in, helping him evade the man’s attack, and swiftly kicked the man away. 

“I had him,” Jaskier spoke slightly slurring. 

“The only thing you had was having your ass handed to you,” she spoke irritated as she gripped his shoulder, holding him steady. 

Jaskier focused his gaze behind her, _“Look out!”_ he yelled, but it wasn’t much of a warning. 

Pushing him away, she quickly turned around, but the man punched her once she did. The hit came with such force that it knocked her down to the floor. Silence instantly filled the entire inn as the onlookers were shocked at what just happened, a man just violently hit a woman for no reason. Everybody thought she was knocked unconscious by how still she was, but they were wrong as she let out a small groan. Jaskier helped her sit up, asking her if she was alright. 

She nursed her aching cheek as she let out a low growl. Normally she would not engage in a useless quarrel between drunken men, but then again, she wasn’t sober either. The only thing going through her mind was that she wasn’t going to let someone take a hit on her and let them be. “ _Hide,”_ she whispered to Jaskier, making him furrow his brow, before yelling, “BRAWL!” as she charged at the drunken man, tackling him down. 

From there, chaos descended, fights began to break out in the inn. She knocked the man out as quickly as she attacked him, but not before another drunken man blindly tries to attack her. She quickly evades the hit, grabs his head and brought it down to her knee that was brought up halfway. The once lively chatter turned into angry shouts and sounds of fists hitting each other, filling the place. The fearful innkeeper couldn’t do anything except hide behind the bar along with a few of the barmaids, the others either hid themselves in the washrooms or quickly ran out of the inn. 

Adrenaline ran throughout her body as she fought with more men, intoxicating her. Her limbs swiftly moved, strangling one man before strangling another. She rapidly drank from a nearby ale mug to replenish herself before returning to the fight. Out of the loud commotion, she heard her name being called out fearfully. She turned to the source, seeing Jaskier in the midst of being pulled out from his hiding spot that was under a table. 

She quickly ran to the aid of the bard. She picked up a chair and hit the man on the back with it, jerking him forward and letting Jaskier go in the process. The man stood up and faced her. He was a formidable fighter, compared to the other men, as he brawled with her. But with a swift move, she had the man pinned down and brought down one punch after another. Her mind became more and more blurred after each hit, no longer having control over her body. 

She raised her fist one last time before a loud crashing sound vibrated through the inn, making everyone stop instantly. “Arnis!” a deep gruff voice shouted angrily. 

She instantly cringed when she heard her name being called out, knowing who it belonged to. _“Shit!”_ she quietly exclaimed before slowly turning her head towards the voice. Arnis saw a tall man with yellow eyes and white long hair that was tied back, glaring at her. It was Geralt, Geralt of Rivia.


End file.
